Prices, pay, taxes, homes and family budgets, county by county, from the same official data the site's calculators use.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis measures price levels in every state against a national average of 100. Wisconsin scores 94.1 overall, so a $75,000 salary at average US prices buys what $70,571 buys here. Compare any salary with another state.
| Price level | Wisconsin (US = 100) | Rank, most expensive first |
|---|---|---|
| Everything | 94.1 | 32nd of 51 |
| Rents | 79.3 | 32nd of 51 |
| Goods | 94.3 | — |
| Other services | 99.5 | — |
Home electricity averaged 17.18 cents a kilowatt-hour in 2024, against 17.06 across all states. A gallon of regular gas cost $3.84 at the end of August 2026, against $4.12.
Across all 2,941,540 jobs the Bureau of Labor Statistics counts in Wisconsin, the median pay is $50,270 a year, or $24.17 an hour; that ranks 22nd of the 50 states and DC. One worker in ten earns less than $29,980 and one in ten more than $104,990.
Wisconsin taxes wages in brackets, with a top rate of 7.65%. The brackets in Wisconsin. A single filer on the median $50,270, with no retirement or health deductions, takes home about $40,496 a year, or $1,558 every two weeks, after $3,852 of federal income tax, $3,846 of Social Security and Medicare and $2,076 of state income tax. Work out your own paycheck in Wisconsin.
The five occupations employing the most people, with their median annual pay:
| Occupation | Jobs | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 82,430 | $36,340 |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 70,520 | $44,610 |
| Registered Nurses | 68,060 | $95,530 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 67,750 | $28,600 |
| Retail Salespersons | 67,640 | $34,480 |
Of the 20 largest occupations, the best paid are general and operations managers ($118,730), registered nurses ($95,530), sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products ($65,930). See what common jobs pay in every state.
Across the 72 Wisconsin counties with their own Zillow home value, the median typical home is worth $304,403, and across the 41 with their own rent figure the median typical rent is $1,212 a month. A typical home costs 3.41 years of the county's median family income, at the median county.
With 10% down at 7.03%, the average 30-year rate on September 24, 2026, that home costs about $2,420 a month with tax, insurance and mortgage insurance, which takes $103,720 a year of income under the usual 28% guideline. The median family can afford its own county's typical home in 11.1% of Wisconsin's counties, against 44.9% of counties nationally. Try it with your own income.
At the median county, home values changed +6.0% over the past year and +32.5% over five years, and rents +4.6% over the past year.
The most expensive Wisconsin counties are Waukesha County ($512,586), Ozaukee County ($510,601) and Dane County ($474,814); the least expensive are Ashland County ($191,665), Florence County ($209,097) and Price County ($218,355).
The Economic Policy Institute prices what a modest but adequate standard of living costs in every county: housing, food, transport, healthcare, childcare, other necessities and taxes. In the median Wisconsin county, that comes to $45,266 a year for one adult and $105,310 for two adults and two children, of which $17,642 is childcare. The national averages are $47,367 and $101,771. Median family income in the median county is $88,108.
| Two adults, two children | Per year, median county | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Housing | $11,945 | $995 |
| Food | $12,267 | $1,022 |
| Transportation | $20,370 | $1,697 |
| Healthcare | $17,816 | $1,485 |
| Childcare | $17,642 | $1,470 |
| Other necessities | $7,524 | $627 |
| Taxes | $15,382 | $1,282 |
Each line is its own median across counties, so the lines do not add up exactly to the total.
The Department of Education's College Scorecard lists 85 colleges in Wisconsin, 32 of them public. The median public college reports a cost of attendance of $17,281 a year, covering tuition, housing, books and other expenses. Ten years after enrolling, the median school's former students earn $45,358. Compare degrees and schools.
| Adams County | $256,379 | +5.5% | — | $78,187 | $98,722 |
| Ashland County | $191,665 | −6.0% | — | $82,105 | $105,531 |
| Barron County | $289,645 | +4.5% | $946 | $82,513 | $107,284 |
| Bayfield County | $310,352 | +1.4% | — | $83,981 | $103,424 |
| Brown County | $361,027 | +4.9% | $1,130 | $100,178 | $117,800 |
| Buffalo County | $260,808 | +9.2% | — | $82,836 | $106,605 |
| Burnett County | $309,602 | +2.3% | — | $78,380 | $104,221 |
| Calumet County | $385,813 | +4.9% | — | $108,396 | $111,764 |
| Chippewa County | $327,473 | +2.9% | $1,330 | $94,845 | $114,168 |
| Clark County | $229,526 | +10.3% | — | $81,755 | $104,631 |
| Columbia County | $362,811 | +4.8% | $1,358 | $98,242 | $107,206 |
| Crawford County | $236,789 | +6.0% | — | $79,701 | $98,870 |
| Dane County | $474,814 | +2.4% | $1,656 | $122,020 | $122,340 |
| Dodge County | $328,212 | +6.2% | $1,106 | $91,528 | $100,064 |
| Door County | $436,541 | +1.7% | — | $95,974 | $107,369 |
| Douglas County | $266,147 | +4.4% | $1,142 | $97,945 | $112,197 |
| Dunn County | $318,652 | +3.3% | $1,159 | $91,407 | $106,671 |
| Eau Claire County | $327,399 | +2.3% | $1,120 | $99,484 | $123,031 |
| Florence County | $209,097 | +6.0% | — | $76,750 | $103,149 |
| Fond du Lac County | $296,758 | +4.6% | $1,177 | $97,932 | $109,610 |
| Forest County | $231,169 | +11.8% | — | $70,915 | $102,530 |
| Grant County | $232,026 | +6.3% | $1,279 | $85,715 | $98,462 |
| Green County | $338,282 | +5.6% | — | $97,889 | $103,904 |
| Green Lake County | $300,129 | +7.7% | — | $84,651 | $99,099 |
| Iowa County | $347,066 | +5.2% | — | $104,962 | $104,214 |
| Iron County | $221,486 | +6.1% | — | $75,882 | $107,636 |
| Jackson County | $235,658 | +9.5% | — | $80,891 | $102,205 |
| Jefferson County | $372,709 | +5.0% | $1,344 | $100,612 | $106,328 |
| Juneau County | $270,014 | +7.6% | — | $79,457 | $100,789 |
| Kenosha County | $339,334 | +6.9% | $1,697 | $100,790 | $124,624 |
| Kewaunee County | $329,071 | +9.1% | — | $95,526 | $105,268 |
| La Crosse County | $339,561 | +5.0% | $1,141 | $98,719 | $121,921 |
| Lafayette County | $247,379 | +7.6% | — | $86,359 | $99,031 |
| Langlade County | $237,332 | +10.0% | $1,212 | $74,546 | $100,706 |
| Lincoln County | $248,220 | +6.2% | — | $87,905 | $105,760 |
| Manitowoc County | $269,387 | +5.0% | $1,064 | $86,605 | $102,372 |
| Marathon County | $284,539 | +9.1% | $1,034 | $94,793 | $112,082 |
| Marinette County | $224,402 | +9.5% | $998 | $75,829 | $99,624 |
| Marquette County | $277,262 | +5.9% | — | $77,899 | $99,197 |
| Menominee County | $310,068 | +8.0% | — | $65,221 | $98,083 |
| Milwaukee County | $295,794 | +3.4% | $1,507 | $82,096 | $114,846 |
| Monroe County | $267,234 | +4.7% | $1,218 | $84,729 | $106,355 |
| Oconto County | $316,112 | +7.5% | $1,034 | $90,654 | $102,978 |
| Oneida County | $326,364 | +6.2% | $1,120 | $89,100 | $102,835 |
| Outagamie County | $348,184 | +5.2% | $1,256 | $103,915 | $110,356 |
| Ozaukee County | $510,601 | +6.0% | $1,736 | $122,417 | $115,755 |
| Pepin County | $289,888 | +9.4% | — | $86,825 | $110,407 |
| Pierce County | $376,223 | +3.5% | $1,193 | $111,413 | $120,926 |
| Polk County | $342,321 | +3.1% | $1,217 | $90,252 | $105,161 |
| Portage County | $324,458 | +10.2% | $1,354 | $96,678 | $106,886 |
| Price County | $218,355 | +7.9% | — | $74,803 | $103,343 |
| Racine County | $319,384 | +5.2% | $1,433 | $93,833 | $116,930 |
| Richland County | $283,513 | +12.9% | — | $81,439 | $98,306 |
| Rock County | $301,239 | +6.6% | $1,242 | $88,311 | $114,883 |
| Rusk County | $220,424 | +6.5% | $940 | $73,693 | $105,352 |
| Sauk County | $346,129 | +4.6% | $1,270 | $95,162 | $103,200 |
| Sawyer County | $345,107 | +2.5% | — | $77,862 | $108,335 |
| Shawano County | $285,136 | +10.9% | $1,226 | $80,143 | $98,198 |
| Sheboygan County | $330,025 | +5.6% | $1,147 | $91,613 | $109,981 |
| St. Croix County | $422,253 | +1.4% | $1,697 | $122,381 | $122,290 |
| Taylor County | $237,797 | +9.0% | — | $79,456 | $104,409 |
| Trempealeau County | $287,118 | +5.6% | — | $90,464 | $104,395 |
| Vernon County | $268,298 | +9.4% | $775 | $88,345 | $98,369 |
| Vilas County | $414,922 | +6.5% | — | $83,065 | $104,517 |
| Walworth County | $414,400 | +4.2% | $1,425 | $99,058 | $107,540 |
| Washburn County | $318,495 | +4.8% | — | $79,715 | $103,413 |
| Washington County | $434,115 | +6.1% | $1,436 | $112,723 | $115,934 |
| Waukesha County | $512,586 | +6.0% | $1,803 | $130,330 | $126,231 |
| Waupaca County | $292,654 | +5.4% | $1,174 | $87,765 | $100,806 |
| Waushara County | $288,677 | +7.3% | — | $80,221 | $100,176 |
| Winnebago County | $307,567 | +4.9% | $1,172 | $95,175 | $113,689 |
| Wood County | $236,897 | +6.3% | $1,149 | $82,343 | $104,209 |
A dash means the source publishes no figure for that county. Home values and rents are Zillow's own county figures only; counties Zillow does not cover are left blank rather than filled with a state average.
Chicago, IL (typical rent $2,253), Minneapolis, MN (typical rent $1,725), Milwaukee, WI (typical rent $1,545), Madison, WI (typical rent $1,649).
Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · District of Columbia · Florida · Georgia · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming
Cost of living · Income tax · Child care costs
Run the numbersTake-home pay in Wisconsin · What a salary is worth in Wisconsin · How much rent you can afford · What a car costs in Wisconsin
Writing about Wisconsin? Paste this code into your page for a small card with the figures above, which update when the site's data does. It has no tracking and no cookies.
County figures are medians across Wisconsin's counties, each counting once, so they describe the spread of places rather than of people. Property tax and insurance vary widely; the calculators let you use your own.